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CAMA 2020 AND RELIGIOUS BODIES: REASONS FOR THE ALARM

The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (“CAMA 2020”) which came into force on 7 August 2020 has been described as long over due, given the many good amendments, the updates and innovations it introduced since it was earlier passed thirty years ago. The bulky piece of legislation contain certain provisions whose core objectives and effects would be better appreciated as time go on with implementation.

Suspension of trustees and appointment of interim managers

One of the new introductions into the CAMA is the provisions seeking to regulate the activities of religious bodies and other associations. Section 839 provides that the Corporate Affairs Commission (“the Commission” or “CAC”) may by order, suspend the trustees of an association or a religious body and appoint an interim manager(s) to coordinate its affairs where it reasonably believes that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement, or to secure the property of the association or religious body (or the application of the property to the objects of the association or religious body), or where the affairs of the association or religious body are being run fraudulently or where it is necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest.

A look at the provisions clearly shows that an Order is required before the Commission can take the regulatory steps mentioned such as suspension of trustees and appointment of interim manager(s) over the affairs of an association or religious body. The order in question must be an order of a court of competent jurisdiction as Section 839(6) states and not an order by the Registrar-General of CAC or the President of Nigeria.

The process of securing the order would require the filing of an application/petition by way of a motion in court supported by a strong affidavit evidence showing reasons why a suspension order and/or order for appointment of interim managers should be made. The application may be made by the Commission or one-fifth of members of the association or religious body. See Section 839(2). Meanwhile, Section 839(6)(a) states that the suspension cannot last forever as it must not exceed 12 months.

The provisions of Section 839 are robust in that the Section provides for the procedure for the possible suspension and appointment of interim managers. The court, the Commission and members of the association and religious bodies are all involved as stakeholders.

Clearly, the provisions touch on other associations. The extention to religious bodies including the churches is the cause for alarm and below are some of the reasons.

Reasons for alarm

A country where a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (Hon. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen) was suspended based on an ex parte motion, brought pursuant to no known law or Rules of Court, contrary to the established procedure in the Constitution, calls for attention. Due process does not particularly enjoy a pride of place in Nigeria. Thorough investigation of allegation of facts cannot be guaranteed at all times. The provisions as it pertains to religious bodies pose worries considering the fact that Nigeria is made up of people of diverse religions, predominantly Muslims and Christians. Anything related to religion in Nigeria is considered delicate. The Commission can move against any association and there will not be much problem or agitation. But with religious bodies, care must be taken because matters of faith in Nigeria appears to be a matter of life and death. Recently, Pastor Oyedepo was reported to have expressed his reservations concerning the provisions with some less than accurate information. For example, he inadvertently failed to reckon with the fact that the order for suspension was to be made by a court. In a country where many Southern Christians have concerns over the dominance by Northern Muslims of virtually all sensitive top positions in Government today, there is growing discomfort that cannot be simply wished away. 

The above are some of the reasons it is ordinarily important to avoid certain loopholes that can be easily exploited and to be more circumspect when a religious body is involved. For instance, it ought to be expressly stated in the statute that in the case of religious bodies, an interim manager must be a person who is a member of the faith and shares the same or similar religious beliefs. A Muslim cannot be made to act as interim manager in a church and vice versa. The Catholic Church cannot entertain a pentecostal acting as interim manager and vice versa. The courts are encouraged to exercise high discretion along these lines in the absence of clear express provisions.

Call to action

Beyond the above, the provisions make it clear however that the suspension of trustees and appointment of interim managers is to be invoked where there is misconduct or mismanagement, or where the affairs of the associations or religious bodies are being run fraudulently or where it is necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest. This means that ordinarily, the State is willing to protect either the association or religious body and even the public as a whole. This is a call for religious bodies and other associations to remain on the path of righteousness and manage their affairs properly like a people who have the fear of God.

No constitutional violation

Let us quickly note that it cannot be safely concluded that the provisions gag freedom of religion. No. So, any agitation in this respect should be jettisoned. Aside the instant provisions, religious bodies are under the authority of the Government. That is why they are all registered with the Commission in the first place. Also, the Government in the wake of Covid-19 banned religious activities and the ban stood. Religious bodies also enjoy the mandate to work hand in hand with the Government. For instance, religious bodies especially the churches assist the Government to administer marriages under the Marriage Act, by issuance of valid Government marriage certificate after the celebration. Religious leaders assist the Government in making certain critical decisions. 

How necessary are the provisions as it pertains to religious bodies?

On a close look, this question is pertinent in that we do not have any report establishing compelling reasons the Government wants to move against or in support religious bodies in this fashion. Whichever way one looks at it. It is common knowledge that religious bodies have effective internal mechanisms for sorting out issues of mismanagement or misconduct, even criminal allegations such as fraud. In appropriate cases, religious bodies will report allegation of criminality to the relevant authority for action. Where Dispute relating to property arises, we have seen religious bodies resort to court for determination of rights. It is submitted that whatever the good wishes of the Government might be in introducing Section 839 to apply to religious bodies, it is unnecessary! The Government should focus her attention to other important areas of governance and manage her own affairs more effectively. 

Conclusion

In view of the foregoing, it is advised that the Government and its agencies should rise up to the occasion and ensure that due process is followed at all times and that the Constitution is respected and upheld. The Government and its agencies, especially the Commission, must not allow any act of dictatorship and reckless show of power. When a Government is responsible and enjoys credibility and integrity, the people will exercise more faith in its mission.

We call on the Government to take steps to expunge the provisions of Section 839 of CAMA 2020 as it relates to religious bodies.

EXCLUSIVE: Police In Kaduna Allegedly Assault, Evict 85-year-old Retired Army Officer, Family Members On Orders Of Governor El-Rufai

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The police in Kaduna State have been accused of beating up and forcefully evicting one Paul Ojo, an 85-year-old retired Staff Sergeant of the Nigerian Army and his family from his house in Kaduna.

The incident happened on Tuesday at L2 Kasupda Quarters, Kabala Costain, Kaduna. 

SaharaReporters gathered that the police invaded the house without any prior notice or court order and asked the occupants to vacate the building.

Armed policemen drafted to carry out the operation were said to have descended on Ojo, who insisted that the property was still under litigation and pending before the court. 

He also demanded from the gun-wielding officers the court order or warrant that authorised his eviction.

The request did not go down well with the police as they pounced on the old man, dragged him on the floor and threw out his properties. 

Also, his 75-year-old wife, Veronica, and children were not spared in the assault as the policemen inflicted injuries on one of the son, Isaac, for challenging them for beating up his father.

Paul’s son, Isaac Ojo.

Leader of the team, one DSP Ahmed, reportedly fired several gunshots during the operation.

Findings revealed that residents, who initially bidded and bought the houses in the area from government, were predominantly christians and had in 2017 instituted a suit at the state high court challenging the decision of the state government to revoke the properties.

A bank draft sighted by SaharaReporters also showed the payment of the sum of sum N235,000 made by Ojo which represented the 10 per cent of first installment of the total sum.

It was also gathered that buyers of the properties according to the terms and conditions were to pay in three installments of 10, 25 and 65 per cent respectively.

Ojo said he had paid the first installment in line with the agreements and wanted to pay the second installment but was turned down.

He explained that he wrote several letters notifying them of his readiness to pay the second installment but all to no avail.

In a  court document obtained by SaharaReporters with suit No. KDH/KAD/904/2017 between Paul Ojo ( plaintiff) and Kaduna State governor, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and Committee on the Sale of Residential Houses in Kaduna State, as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

The plaintiff (Paul Ajayi) had prayed the court that he was the rightful and legal owner of the property and his allotment was based on public auction of the Kaduna State Government residential quarters.

The eviction was allegedly authorised by the state’s Solicitor-General, Chris Umar, who delegated one Samuel Madaki to lead the operation.

In an interview with SaharaReporters,  Ojo’s lawyer, Kimi Livingstone Appah, said the matter on the property was pending before the court and that they had close their case but the state government represented by Tahir Ladan from the Ministry of Justice had refused to open defence.

He confirmed that his client was assaulted by the police, who came to carry out the eviction without any court order.

Appah said the house in question was  bought by his client but later allocated to one Mr Abbas Mohammed Ango, who filed a suit at the Customary Court of Tribunal with the intention to taking over the house.  

He explained further that he had filed a preliminary objection in the suit challenging the jurisdiction of the court in the matter.

He said the police physically assaulted and dragged his client on the floor in his presence when he approached Madaki, who was leader of the team to provide the warrant or court order to carry out the eviction.

He said, “When we met Samuel Madaki who is the leader of the team that you cannot do this and it is wrong, he told us to go to hell that as far as the governor had given order, he was following the directive. 

“In my presence, they were beating the old man who just came back from the hospital. He was dragged on the floor like a goat. He is an hypertension patient and has leg problem. 

“They also beat up his 75-year-old wife and arrested two of his sons, Isaac and Michael. They were detained in the police station for 10 hours.

“There is a pending matter over the property. There is no judgment yet, the case is in court. The governor sold the houses and most of the people including my client bidded and bought the properties but government later revoked it and gave it to their Muslim brothers. 

“We went to court and challenged it that since they had.not returned the money to those who bought the houses, they had no right to allocate it to another buyer or evict them.”

DOCUMENTS: Police In Kaduna Allegedly Assault, Evict 85-year-old Retired Army Officer, Family Members On Or… by Sahara Reporters on Scribdhttps://www.scribd.com/embeds/472997143/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-CZ4JD8dncAoS362ms5zL

When SaharaReporters reached out to leader of the team, Samuel Madaki, for reaction, he said he was not in best position to speak on the matter.

Police spokesperson in Kaduna could not be reached for comments as of the time of this report.

SaharaReporters

Nigeria’s sovereignty and Chinese loans

By Ikenna Emewu

We are in the season of distraction from the issues that face us to chase the shadows they throw on the ground. Nigeria is borrowing recklessly as if the only thing it can do to survive is borrowing. We read it very early in life that ‘he who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing’. The truth of this saying can never fade, but Nigeria doesn’t care.

In the past five weeks, we have seen some of the worst drama of the present government in unbridled sleaze when we were promised no tolerance for corruption. The matters were getting adequate national attention and all of a sudden, someone threw a huge distraction into the mix. We have left those compelling issues to bicker over the shadow.

The substances are the EFCC probe and the ousted acting chairman’s alleged soiled hands running into hundreds of billions of naira.

Today, instead of discussing what is going on, they brought us a potent distraction that a loan giver, the China EXIM bank signed or compelled Nigeria to sign loan deal to cede Nigeria’s sovereignty.

I saw the bait when the Transportation Minister, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi asked Nigerians if anything is wrong with China giving a condition on Nigeria’s sovereign immunity waiver as clause.

If for instance, Amaechi doesn’t understand the legal interpretation of the clause that contains the sovereign immunity issue, the lawyers that signed for Nigeria do. So why are the Attorney General of the Federation and the Finance Ministry and in fact, the foreign ministry silent on telling Nigerians the true meaning of that clause that has nothing to do with Nigeria ceding her sovereignty to any country?

Even a lay man would ask of the possibility of a country being stripped of its sovereign immunity endowment. Simply put, waiver of a state’s sovereign immunity means losing its statehood.

It became better understood when Amaechi started by asking the National Assembly to stop probing the loans conditions signed with the Chinese capital exporting institution, the EXIM Bank.

Why a minister of a country made such request, and asserting in a very confusing manner that China would be cold towards honouring the loan facility if the National Assembly probes it is surprising. Which country or loan giver in the world would be annoyed that a probe is conducted by a state to ensure due process and proper utilization of a facility it gave? Reason Nigeria is sinking in debt is the culture of loans obtained in the past being diverted to private coffers and the state left to pay.

Did the minister forget that China punishes fraud in public office with death to show its total intolerance for fraud? So why would such country that knows the recovery of its loan or loan of its agency is assured when only the loan is judiciously used be against public probe?

For the records, loans China extends to any country in Africa are not from the government. For Africa, China operates the China Africa Development Fund (CADFund) created in 2015 after the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and endowed with US$5 billion which was later raised to US$10 billion in 2016.

So, when I read Article 8(1) of the loan conditionalities that has been latched on to as the offending ingredient, I would not find any reasonable meaning in the obfuscated interpretation. The clause described the loan as COMMERCIAL. That is a loud qualification in public international law.

It reads “The borrower hereby irrevocably waives any immunity on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise for itself and its property in connection with any arbitration proceedings pursuant to Article 8(5) thereof with the enforcement of any arbitral awards pursuant thereto, except for the military assets and diplomatic assets.”

There is no stretch of interpretation of this clause that connotes Nigeria losing her sovereignty to China.

What it simply means is that if the borrower defaults in repaying, and the lender takes the borrower to arbitration to decide how the loan would be recovered, the borrower can’t plead it is a sovereign state and won’t subject to the jurisdiction of the arbitral panel.

Sovereign immunity is a rule in public international law that precludes sovereign states from subjecting to the jurisdiction and decisions of the court of another state. This rule applies in two arms – absolute sovereign immunity or restrictive sovereign immunity.

The absolute sovereign immunity applies in issues related to pure state activities termed acta jure imperii. The restrictive immunity applies in matters that are commercial in nature and called acta jure gestionis. So, this issue of loan is COMMERCIAL and the rule of absolute sovereign immunity can never apply. That is why the clause exempted military and diplomatic assets. I don’t think, with due respect, that whoever entered into that treaty ceded Nigeria’s sovereignty as we hear.

This rule didn’t start with China and Nigeria loans. It is an old one and consolidated even with Nigeria in the case of Trendtex Trading Company v. Central Bank of Nigeria in 1977 in a judgment of a London court. ([1977] 2 WLR 356)

In this case, the Swiss company sued our own CBN for reneging on its obligation to honour the payment for cement supplied Nigeria government and the demurrage that accrued to it after delay in berthing and offloading in the Lagos ports. CBN entered appearance at the London court and pleaded sovereign immunity to opt out of the litigation. But the court disagreed and interpreted the deal on RESTRICTIVE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY because the CBN, though an agency of a sovereign state was involved in commercial activity (acta jure gestionis) and held it liable for the default.

Before our CBN was a celebrated case in 1961, Harris & Co. Advertising v. Republic of Cuba, 127So.2d 687 (Fla. App. 1961) between the company and state of Cuba. Cuba lost its plea of sovereign immunity in Florida, USA court because what was at stake was a commercial matter, also applying the rule of restrictive sovereign immunity.

It might also interest us to know that the IMF and World Bank vet all international loan conditions, and if that Article 8(1) was at variance with the rules, it would not have been allowed to stand in the first place.

Recently, one of the most favourite past times of the world has been China bashing in factual and fictitious shades and US has been the champion and creator of the rave. Last week, even Reuters, a prominent US news agency reported from its Lusaka base a refutal of the government of Zambia of a statement credited to the White House that a Chinese company has taken the Zambian electricity agency, ZESCO over loan default.

What should worry us so much is why Nigeria keeps borrowing endlessly and nothing is done in the public interest with the loans. Our debt stands at N33 trillion as at May 2020. We keep borrowing when the drain pile is not yet plugged and keep losing the same loans we got to individuals that run the state.

  • Emewu, journalist is of Afri-China Media Centre. He wrote from Lagos.

Na’Abba, Mailafia: Utomi flays assault on freedom of expression

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By Simeon Ndaji

CO-CHAIRMAN, National Consultative Front, Professor Pat Utomi, yesterday, expressed worry over the assault on freedom of expression in the country, urging Nigerians to resist a return to dictatorship.

Utomi, in a statement, said: “If we resisted the military, surely, the people can resist civilians bound towards fascism.

“My co-chair of the National Consultative Front, Mr. Ghali Na’Abba and Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, were invited by the Department of State Security, DSS, on account of remarks they made. For Dr. Mailafia, it was a second journey within a week.

“History shows us that such invitations bear ominous foreboding because freedom of expression is usually the first victim in the decent toward totalitarianism. Check the trends in the early days of Hitler’s East Germany.

“Much blood has been shed to prevent our country from under-served fate of a totalitarian order. That blood flow includes that of General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the annulment of the elections of June 12, 1993, and the life of Chief MKO Abiola, who we have come to honour posthumously, including many undergraduates, like Kyle Adepeju of the University of Ibadan 48 years ago. Adepeju was shot by the police and probably would have been a grandfather today. Should his grandchildren be denied the freedom he gave his life for?

“These security harassments of citizens exercising their fundamental human rights to express themselves and request accountability from those who ostensibly represent them are coming one month to the day the United Nations set aside, September 15, to mark the International Democracy Day, leads me to call on the global community, from the Secretary General of the United Nations, the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court, and our development partners to note development in Nigeria, and prepare to act appropriately.”

Vanguard

OBADIAH AND SOUTHERN KADUNA CARNAGE

Sonnie Ekwowusi writes that are our strength lies in our common humanity

He says his first name means “man of peace”. His surname means “servant of the most powerful God”. He comes down severely on the rulers of darkness who are sponsoring the genocide against the Christians in Southern Kaduna. He is eloquent as much as he is vociferous. He is courageous. He calls things by their names. He says he is ready to lay down his life to save his people. Like prophet Obadiah, one of the prophets of the Old Testament, he exhorts the people to trust in the power of God and justice of God, and not in the fleeting and precarious power of tyrannical rulers. Southern Kaduna is the kingdom of God not the kingdom of the devil.

Justice is coming, nemesis is coming, he announces. He is unruffled. “I am not making this up. I have a PhD from Oxford. I am not a sensationalist, I am an economist and a central banker; by nature we are not given to sensation. Let me make it clear: I am a humanist; I am a man of peace. Even my name, Mailafia, means a man of peace. From the bottom of my heart, I love our country dearly and I abhor all the killings and violence which the innocent people of this country have been subjected to. I pray that Nigeria will never experience another civil war. The most elementary duty of government is to protect its citizens. When a government fails to protect its citizens, to protect little children that is a serious matter. Any innocent boy or girl that is killed is my own child. I love Nigeria. Like Mandela, let me say if need be, I am prepared to give my life for Nigeria”, he said last week.

In case you are still aghast wondering whom I am referring to, he is the former Deputy-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr. Obadiah Mailafia. Last week his voice rang out like a lone voice in the wilderness in condemnation of the sponsored genocide against the Southern Kaduna Christians. Hear from Obadiah, “…they told us that one of the Northern governors was the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown. They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country. “They are already in the South, in the rain forests of the South. They are everywhere. They told us that when they finish these rural killings, they will move to phase two. Phase two is that they will go into urban cities, going from house to house killing prominent people.”

This is weighty. It serves no useful purpose to dismiss it with a wave of the hand as if the blood being shed is not the blood of human beings. Of course, it is the blood of our fellow human beings: It is the blood of our brothers and sisters, members of the same human family. Look, the killing of our fellow human beings ought to stir in us the revulsion to hate our human existence. If I may ask you one question: How would feel if you are told that some religious-fanatic-murderers had forcefully gained entrance into your parents’ house, seized your parents and your sibling including your three-year old baby-sister and hacked all of them to death, and, thereafter set fire on the entire house? Obviously the tragic news will likely make you go insane.

Well, this is the tragedy that occurs in Southern Kaduna almost on a daily basis – families are wiped out just like that. It is a tragedy that is known to the whole world. In fact the fundamental reason why the U.S. has placed Nigeria on her Special Watch List, her travel ban list and visa restriction list is mainly traceable to the Southern Kaduna genocide. We don’t need a Dr. Obadiah to tell us what we already know about the Southern Kaduna genocide. But let’s assume for a moment that Obadiah is a rhapsodic rabble-rouser who is mischievously inciting the people against the government as the DSS would want us to believe; just google “Nigerian Soldiers and Fulani herdsmen/Boko Haram killings” and you will read the complaints of some Nigerian soldiers to the effect that the war against Boko Haram is failing in Nigeria because the war is being sabotaged by some people at the top.

If the Nigerian soldiers in the frontline are telling us that, who are we lesser mortals to doubt them? In fact some soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the North-East have expressed their anger against President Buhari over his release of over 1, 400 “repentant Boko Haram” terrorists. The soldiers could not understand why their killers are being offered amnesty. In February 2020, the Borno State Commissioner for Information, Babakura Jato, frayed up in anger upon discovering that the so-called “repentant Boko Haram” terrorists were not repentant at all because they had gone back to join their killer-colleagues in the killing fields. He also said that a lot of soldiers are not happy about this ugly development. According to one Nigerian soldier, “We were at the Maimalari barracks when some of these Boko Haram people were released.

The authorities are releasing them, but Boko Haram are killing soldiers that they capture. This does not make sense to us at all. We continue to sweep across the bushes to flush these people out, and then the government will release them. Does that not amount to wasted efforts?” Another soldier said, “You wonder why Boko Haram members are on the increase? When we arrest them and bring them here, some top people would come and start negotiating their release. But, I will tell you some of these so-called suspects are returning to the bush and they were never repentant.” The objective of Boko Haram, said Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, is to enthrone an Islamic dominance in Nigeria. Bishop Kukah persuasively argues that there is no difference anymore between the government and Boko Haram except that the latter uses bombs to achieve its objective.

You see, no man, no woman of good conscience can keep quiet over the Southern Kaduna killings. No street can remain silent amid the stillness of death everywhere in Southern Kaduna. In some of the lines of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem entitled; “We Wear the Mask”, we may be wearing the masks covering the grins and lies. With torn and bleeding hearts we may be smiling but we may not know peace until the blood of the murdered innocent children of Southern Kaduna is avenged. What do murderers gain by spilling the blood of innocent children? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!! What do the living gain by keeping quiet in times of religious persecution and religious genocide? Nothing! Absolutely nothing !!. And if they do at all gain anything it is the hottest places in hell as Dante teaches in his Inferno. Since civilization is not an attribute of religious fanaticism or religious killing or curl of hair or curve of the lip or human accent we should re-scrutinize our heritage with sharper eyes than before in order to win our civilization.

Though tribes and tongues may differ; though some self-serving politicians may ride on the crest of religious fanaticism to murder our parents and sibling and set our houses ablaze, our strength lies in our common humanity. It is our only weapon with which we hope to conquer fundamental wrong, fundamental error, fundamental injustice in order to arrive at fundamental truth. If the government wants her name removed from the U.S. Special Watch list, U.S. travel ban list and the U.S. visa restriction list then she should stop the Southern Kaduna genocide forthwith.

thisdaylive

Ghana: Peter Obi seeks FG’s intervention over clampdown on Nigerian businesses

Former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has described as unfair, the recent clampdown on Nigerian businesses in Ghana by the Ghanaian Authorities.

Obi in a press release made available to Newspot in Awka through his media aide, Mr Val Obienyem, said such actions negated the true spirit of African brotherhood.

He said it was unfair and unjust to close up shops and offices of businesses that were legally registered and of which their owners were law abiding residents.

Speaking on the $1 million business registration fees and taxes allegedly levied on such Nigerian businesses by the Ghana Investment Promotion Council, Obi said it was shocking as it were outrageous, that foreign businesses were being subjected to such terrible conditions, without minding the huge losses incurred by these businesses due to the global pandemic.

Obi stated that governments should be encouraging local and foreign investments with palliatives for more post-COVID economic recovery, instead of choking them with harsh economic conditions.

Describing the actions of Ghanaian Authorities as undiplomatic, Obi said there were more peaceful channels of communication that would have been followed.

“Recent reports of clampdown and forceful closure of business premises belonging to Nigerians in Ghana is not only unfair and unjust, but it clearly negates the true spirit of African unity. Governments around the world, knowing the huge losses and setbacks incurred by businesses due to the global coronavirus pandemic, are doing their best to revive local and foreign investments. Suppressing Nigerian businesses in Ghana at this critical time should not be seen as a right step”, Obi said.

He called on the Federal Government to urgently wade into the matter and save Nigerians, whose means of livelihood were obviously being threatened by the recent actions of the Ghanaian Authorities.

newspotng

UNIlAG: VC hire, fire not your sole right – ASUU blasts Babalakin

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lambasted the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Governing Council Chairman, Wale Babalakin.

ASUU told him that the hire and fire of a Vice-Chancellor was not his sole right.

The council had sacked UNILAG VC, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and named Prof. Theophilus Omololu Soyombo (Faculty of Social Sciences) as replacement.

ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday insisted that due process was not followed.

“We are shocked not because we regard Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as a saint but for the fact that all available evidence indicates that he was not taken through the due process.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Babalakin should be reminded that the knowledge of procedures and process for appointment and removal of Vice-Chancellors is not the exclusive preserve of legal luminaries,” NAN quoted him as saying.

The “legal luminaries” was a veiled description of Babalakin, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

newspotng

Oyedepo Vs FG: What The British Charity Commission Also Says

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David Oyedepo, the Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide has shouted blue murder over the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, that gives the supervising minister the power to remove the board of trustees of churches without recourse to the court.

In hos words: “In the document, they said the registrar-general can remove the trustees without recourse to the court. Don’t try it. This must be from somebody who woke up from the wrong side of the bed after dreaming. The person must have drafted that aspect in the bill as their custom is…I am 51 years old in this thing (Christianity), don’t try it. I have been with Jesus for some time and I am sent as a prophet to nations. That a minister can remove the trustees and close the accounts of the church is.”

Is there any difference between the core provisions in this CAMA amendment and that of the Charity act of the UK? Critics asked. According to Otunba Yemisi Shyllon, a lawyer and engineer, “Was it not the British that brought our Christian faith to us?”

According to Mr Ife Babalola, writer and public commentator who has experienced the Western and Nigerian worlds, argued: “There is hardly any difference between the core provisions of our laws and those of western democracies. The difference is in the failure of our institutions in enforcing those regulations as practiced elsewhere. My personal opinion has always been that with the multitude of religious organisations and other NGOs in Nigeria, the establishment of a Charity Commission independent of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is long overdue.”
Below, for example, according to him, is introducing The UK Charity Commission:

“We register and regulate charities in England and Wales, to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence. We are an independent, non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament.

As registrar, we are responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date register of charities. This includes deciding whether organisations are charitable and should be registered. We also remove charities that are not considered to be charitable, no longer exist or do not operate.”

However, Oyedepo, on Tuesday waved all arguments off, saying:“I told you, if I ever preach a message where there is no laughter, don’t listen to it. I’ve been laughing like this since 1976 till forever. Since I found Matthew 6:33, I’ve been laughing at the devil, smiling as I serve. You insult me, I enjoy it. You insult me and I stopped going to work because you insulted me, I will be a big fool.

“I am going to work and you say, “see his leg.” Yes, I thank God for my leg. “See his nose.’ He (God) made it and He did it beautifully. “See how short he is.” That’s the size He made me for so I can save more cloths.

“He that sitteth in Heaven shall laugh (Psalm 2:4). If you are not laughing, you are not one of them sitting in Heaven because in Heaven, he that sits there laughs and we are seated in Heavenly places, what should we do? Laugh
As you serve: laugh

“As they insult you: laugh; As they mock you: laugh; As they abuse you: laugh. Anybody insulting me is wasting his mouth: I didn’t hear (the insult). Even if I heard it, it won’t pain me. Anybody praising me is just expressing his opinion

“I didn’t hear it and if I heard, it won’t blow my head because if you praise anything in me, it is Jesus. The greater in me is the One you are praising and you think I’m the one. Thank God for the privilege of stewardship. Ask God for grace to maximize this awesome season in your life. God is changing people’s stories, He has you in mind.”

Again, FG Arraigns Briton, Six Firms over Alleged Complicity in P&ID Deal

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The federal government on Tuesday arraigned a British national, Mr James Nolan, before the Federal High Court, Abuja, over alleged complicity in the failed gas deal between Nigeria and an Irish firm, Process and Industrial Development (P&ID).

The failed deal entered in 2010 is threatening the seizure of Nigeria’s assets abroad to the tune of over $9 billion.

The British Arbitration Court, by a majority of two to one judgment in 2017 awarded the sum of $6.597 billion together with interest at the rate of 7 percent starting from March 20, 2013 until payment is made.

The 7 per cent interest reflects what P&ID would have paid to borrow the money or earned by investing the money in Nigeria.

Following Nigeria’s failure to pay the fine, the court on August 16, 2019, made an order enforcing the tribunal’s final award which now stands at about $9.6 billion.

In making this award, the court noted that the damages awarded were purely compensatory and not intended to punish the Nigerian government.

The court also confirmed that there were no public policy grounds on which the award should not be enforced. This decision converts the arbitration award to a legal judgment.

Nigeria however appealed the ruling and the appeal is currently being heard by a London court, where Nigeria is claiming that the deal was fraudulently entered into.

In Nigeria, the federal government last year commenced the prosecution of those suspected to have played one role or another in the P&ID alleged scam.

The federal government had arraigned Nolan, two directors of P&ID and a former director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in different suits to bring to justice all those involved in the alleged scam.

Nolan, since his arraignment last year, has been in custody of the Nigeria Correctional Services due to his inability to perfect his bail.

However, the federal government on Tuesday arraigned him, two others said to be at large (Adams Quinn and Niel Murray) alongside six other firms.

Nolan, Quinn and Murray were charged as directors of the firms.

The six firms are Ecophoenix Nigeria Limited, Babcock Electrical Projects Limited, Marshpearl Nigeria Limited, L. I. R. Resources Nigeria Limited, Kristholm Nigeria Limited and Lurgi Consult Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the six separate charges accused the defendants of failing to declare their activities as specified under the Money Laundering Act 2011 as well as failure to develop programmes to combat money laundering, amongst others.

While Nolan pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the six different suits, the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, entered a not guilty plea for the six firms even when they were not represented by any lawyer.

Following his not-guilty plea, his lawyer, Mr Paul Erokoro (SAN), moved an oral application for his bail.

Erokoro informed the court that his client has already been admitted to bail by the same court in a sister case and urged the court to recognize the bail, particularly as varied by the Court of Appeal on July 7 this year.

The counsel to the EFCC, Mr Bala Sanga, however did not oppose the request for bail, stating that the major concern of the prosecution is the presence of the defendants in court throughout the trial.

In a short ruling, Justice Mohammed adopted the conditions as varied by the Court of Appeal in admitting Nolan to bail and adjourned till October 5, 2020 for trial.

Process and Industrial Development (P&ID), a company based in the British Virgin Islands, had on January 11, 2010, signed a gas supply and processing agreement with Nigeria.

The firm, according to the contract, was to build a gas facility in Cross River State where it would process wet gas supplied to it by Nigeria.

P&ID was expected to process the wet gas by removing natural gas liquids and return approximately 85 per cent of it to the government in the form of lean gas, to be returned at no cost to Nigeria.

Nigeria, on the other hand, was to construct pipelines and arrange facilities for transporting the wet gas to the facility to be built by P&ID.

However, trouble started when the Irish firm accused Nigeria of breach of contract and dragged the country to a London arbitration, where it claimed that it had invested $40 million in the project even though it had not acquired the land or built any facilities for gas processing.

It further claimed damages of another $6.6 billion being the amount of the net income it would have earned over the 20-year period of the agreement.

But in tackling P&ID, Nigeria stated that the firm never commenced building the gas processing facility in the first instance, adding that the entire agreement was a fraud.

Court Grants Emperor Ogbonna Bail After Six Months Of Incarceration

A legal practitioner and social critique, Emperor Ogbonna, was on Tuesday admitted to bail by a Federal High Court, Abuja after six months detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Justice Taiwo Taiwo granted the applicant bail while ruling in a motion on notice argued by a foremost human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and A. A. Malik (SAN) on his behalf.

Ozekhome had in the motion drawn the attention of Justice Taiwo to the fact that his client had been held unlawfully by the DSS since March 24, 2020

The senior lawyer argued that the offence of the detained critique was his alleged criticism of certain policies of President Muhammadu Buhari and his conclusion that citizens may revolt due to alleged harsh living conditions unless the federal government provides remedy.

Ozekhome, while pleading that the detained lawyer be admitted to liberal bail conditions, said that the fundamental rights of the detainee had been brutally breached with the six months detention.

He urged the court to invoke constitutional provisions which presume the applicant innocent until proven otherwise, so as to allow him go on bail.

Responding, the lawyer to the federal government, Mr Isah Abubakar, opposed the bail on the grounds that the applicant will escape justice in view of the gravity of his alleged offence.

However, in a bench ruling, Justice Taiwo agreed with Ozekhome that the law presumed the applicant innocent until found guilty by a competent court and that the fundamental rights of the applicant to freedom of liberty had been breached with his detention for more than the period prescribed by law.

The judge therefore admitted him to bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.

Among others, the sureties must provide evidence of tax payment and one of them must have property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with verifiable documents.

He however ordered that the applicant be remanded in prison custody pending the time he will perfect his bail.

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